All good -- I mean bad things must come to an end. In the case of Narrative of the Life of Fredercik Douglass: An American Slave it in different ways fit into both the 'good things' and 'bad things' categories. For the former, there's the satisfaction when reading a book until the very end that is unlike any other feeling evoked by endings of any kind. Reading, as I have mentioned in my literacy narrative, is a time consuming activity that requires effort over longer periods of time than, say, a movie. Regardless, I personally like finishing books, and Douglass' narrative was no exception to the rule.
On the other hand, when referring to the ending as 'bad things', I'd think it's quite obvious that what I'm speaking of and referring to is slavery. Specifically Douglass'.
As the narrative approaches its conclusion, it is evident that the structure designed by Douglass along with his style, make of the conclusion what I thought of as a huge sigh or even gasp of surprise mixed with relief.
Leaving behind tales of horror, the narrative takes on a topic that makes the reader almost tremble with hope for humanity and excitement: escape. Our beautifully organized american bilingual school has since (four)ever pursued the embedment of american history into our minds. Therefore it is virtually impossible to find a student that neither knows or hasn't heard about the Underground Railroad. A bell at least rings once in recognition in CNG students' minds when mentioned. It must be said that said recognition, in general, comes hand in hand with a distinct feeling of hope alongside relief.
Why relief? Because the whole of the narrative we, as readers, have been informed in clinical detail of the unlimited cruelty expended by whites against slaves, for slavery's sake. That the protagonist should follow through on what were once simple contemplations of escape, is an exciting endeavour. We finally witness how it was said protagonist became a hero and a shining beacon of hope for those like him. We experience the climax of his transformation from slave to free man, to idol. Even Douglass seems excited to share this zenith of freedom in his life with the reader as he says, "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man" (Chapter 10. Para. 10).
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Pathological Whipping
Whipped....
As in whipped cream.
As in falling in love (an expression commonly used by teenagers today).
As in the act of being whipped.
And now, thanks to The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by former slave Frederick Douglass, yet another definition for whipped can be added to our list of meanings. But what does the word whipping mean when Douglass uses it? He mentions it when explaining the happenings surrounding the murder of the slave Demby, his blood in the hands of cold Mr. Gore. He says his actions go "unwhipped by justice" (Douglass, Chapter 4, para. 5) along with being "uncensured by the community".I don't know how to explain what the use of the verb whipped means in this phrase and context. I relate it to the adjective untouched. because when plugging in untouched in place of unwhipped, the meaning seems to stay the same.
On another note, the stories make this narrative's appeal to the different branches of rhetoric as clear as day.
It's logos because it's fact. It happened.
It's pathos because it takes to our hearts and conscious.
It's literally a pathological whipping of the brain. I don't cringe due to the descriptions, but rather because of the stories and examples he narrates. The descriptions aren't all that gory, the actions are. What causes me to gag with disgust, makes my palms sweat and my heart hurt, is the thought of Mrs. Hamilton and "pecked"; of Mr. Gore and Demby; of the freezing children. All these examples are described in a clinical, matter-of-fact way. Something that exuberates logos, and the result of it is purely pathos.
Oh and by the way, does wondering if white's have hearts at all, fall under pathos?
On another note, the stories make this narrative's appeal to the different branches of rhetoric as clear as day.
It's logos because it's fact. It happened.
It's pathos because it takes to our hearts and conscious.
It's literally a pathological whipping of the brain. I don't cringe due to the descriptions, but rather because of the stories and examples he narrates. The descriptions aren't all that gory, the actions are. What causes me to gag with disgust, makes my palms sweat and my heart hurt, is the thought of Mrs. Hamilton and "pecked"; of Mr. Gore and Demby; of the freezing children. All these examples are described in a clinical, matter-of-fact way. Something that exuberates logos, and the result of it is purely pathos.
Oh and by the way, does wondering if white's have hearts at all, fall under pathos?
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Trivia Today!
When charged with the duty of copilot to my Mom's driving, many of what I call "phone errands" must be done. "Call her", "text him" and "check that" are commonly the beginning phrases of her commands. Very frequently I am asked to check her email through her phone, and to my surprise, where most emails come from is an account that goes by the username of Trivia Today Question of the Day. It happens to be one of the many ways of learning random facts about anything and everything, which is one of today's trends. The instagram, twitter and facebook accounts for random or "fun facts"are impossible to list. Signing up for the Trivia Today Question of the Day is my mothers preference for this trend.
What does this have to do with The Narrative of the Life of Fredercik Douglass: An American Slave?
What, indeed.
Reading the first two chapters of this narrative, what shocks me the most are the things that slaves are deprived of. Things that I would have never imagined or thought about when thinking, or in this case reading, about the era of slavery in the United States. But once these "things" were mentioned by Douglass, I got to thinking of what they really meant.
"(...) my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery." (Location 578 of 2239).
1. Birthdays.
It had never before ocurred to me that one could be deprived of the knowledge a birthday provides. Age was apparently one of the things white people of the time used to trivialize the slaves existence and rights. The word trivialize comes to mind because 'animalize' simply doesn't exist. Because the way I see it, slavery began on the basis that one race was superior to another. And by superior I mean 'more human'. And what better way to demonstrate, not one's superiority but rather demise someone else's, than through the depravation of such trivial things, as birthdays are. Knowing ones age is such a natural thing to me, that I can't imagine living without knowing it. And now that I think about it, parents could very easily lie about their childrens birthday, what could ever be reason for such a lie, is a whole other story.
"A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappinness to me even during childhood. The white children couldt tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege." (Location 428 of 2239).
On the bright side of things, if the U.S. were Alice's Wonderland, then all slaves would be part of a never ending celebration: Have a very merry unbirthday!
2. Mother-Child Long Distance Relationships.
The second 'thing' that particularly caught my attention was the mother-child separating technique. There exists the possibility of having to grow up without one or both parents in life. Today, accidents bring forth such circumstances. Then, white people did. The obvious difference being that today, if one's parents are not around, other individuals will in one way or another assume or provide the mother and or father figures that are so vital in a person's life and specially his or her upbringing. I call it a technique, because again, it is the white's way of trivializing the slaves. In this case, differentiating from the birthday depravation technique, there is a specific area of a humans life being demoralized, or how I prefer to call it: animalized. Said area is the following: the bond between mother and child, from which compassion, love and the deepest and sincerest form of affection, surpassing love, can and will flourish.
"For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder development of the child's affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for a child." (Location 439 of 2239).
The lack of unconditional love, typical and natural of a mother towards her child, can be catastrophic in the early development of an individual, because no guidance is like a mothers'. An individuals values highly depend on the upbringing provided in the first decade of a persons life. This in turn affects their behaviors and tendencies of the future. Thus, the separation of mother and child is a technique for making of slaves more animal than human individuals.
Another form of trivialization I found throughout the first two chapters of the narrative was the way Douglass himself approached the two subjects previously mentioned. Each topic got by far one page of explanation, description and analysis. This struck me as a sign of an indifferent tone exercised by Douglass. Although, to be fair, this seems to be a recurring tone which enables deep emotion to be expressed through vocabulary and direct emphasis, rather than tone. Regardless of this fact, my first impression of Douglass's thoughts on the matter was that he thought such details of slave life to be trivial and of no potent importance.
So you see, triviality all around. And more directly associated with my Mom's Trivia Today! fun, facts such as slaves being separated from their mothers since infancy and their deprivation of their birthdays, should be included as fun or random facts of todays "the least you know about a subject, the better, so here have a fun fact" culture. Beacuse at the end of the day, these are just two of a million facts about slavery in the U.S. Two of a million questions that can appear in my Mom's mail inbox, within a Trivia Today Question of the Day email.
What does this have to do with The Narrative of the Life of Fredercik Douglass: An American Slave?
What, indeed.
Reading the first two chapters of this narrative, what shocks me the most are the things that slaves are deprived of. Things that I would have never imagined or thought about when thinking, or in this case reading, about the era of slavery in the United States. But once these "things" were mentioned by Douglass, I got to thinking of what they really meant.
"(...) my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery." (Location 578 of 2239).
1. Birthdays.
It had never before ocurred to me that one could be deprived of the knowledge a birthday provides. Age was apparently one of the things white people of the time used to trivialize the slaves existence and rights. The word trivialize comes to mind because 'animalize' simply doesn't exist. Because the way I see it, slavery began on the basis that one race was superior to another. And by superior I mean 'more human'. And what better way to demonstrate, not one's superiority but rather demise someone else's, than through the depravation of such trivial things, as birthdays are. Knowing ones age is such a natural thing to me, that I can't imagine living without knowing it. And now that I think about it, parents could very easily lie about their childrens birthday, what could ever be reason for such a lie, is a whole other story.
"A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappinness to me even during childhood. The white children couldt tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege." (Location 428 of 2239).
On the bright side of things, if the U.S. were Alice's Wonderland, then all slaves would be part of a never ending celebration: Have a very merry unbirthday!
2. Mother-Child Long Distance Relationships.
The second 'thing' that particularly caught my attention was the mother-child separating technique. There exists the possibility of having to grow up without one or both parents in life. Today, accidents bring forth such circumstances. Then, white people did. The obvious difference being that today, if one's parents are not around, other individuals will in one way or another assume or provide the mother and or father figures that are so vital in a person's life and specially his or her upbringing. I call it a technique, because again, it is the white's way of trivializing the slaves. In this case, differentiating from the birthday depravation technique, there is a specific area of a humans life being demoralized, or how I prefer to call it: animalized. Said area is the following: the bond between mother and child, from which compassion, love and the deepest and sincerest form of affection, surpassing love, can and will flourish.
"For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder development of the child's affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for a child." (Location 439 of 2239).
The lack of unconditional love, typical and natural of a mother towards her child, can be catastrophic in the early development of an individual, because no guidance is like a mothers'. An individuals values highly depend on the upbringing provided in the first decade of a persons life. This in turn affects their behaviors and tendencies of the future. Thus, the separation of mother and child is a technique for making of slaves more animal than human individuals.
Another form of trivialization I found throughout the first two chapters of the narrative was the way Douglass himself approached the two subjects previously mentioned. Each topic got by far one page of explanation, description and analysis. This struck me as a sign of an indifferent tone exercised by Douglass. Although, to be fair, this seems to be a recurring tone which enables deep emotion to be expressed through vocabulary and direct emphasis, rather than tone. Regardless of this fact, my first impression of Douglass's thoughts on the matter was that he thought such details of slave life to be trivial and of no potent importance.
So you see, triviality all around. And more directly associated with my Mom's Trivia Today! fun, facts such as slaves being separated from their mothers since infancy and their deprivation of their birthdays, should be included as fun or random facts of todays "the least you know about a subject, the better, so here have a fun fact" culture. Beacuse at the end of the day, these are just two of a million facts about slavery in the U.S. Two of a million questions that can appear in my Mom's mail inbox, within a Trivia Today Question of the Day email.
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